Lawsuit Continues Against Cooper & Elliott LLC and Manion Stigger LLP

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Pinnacle
Surety, a professional surety bond agency, today announced that its
lawsuit against G. Bruce Stigger, Manion Stigger LLP, Rex H. Elliott and
Cooper & Elliott LLC continues. In a recent ruling, U.S. District Court,
Judge David J. Hale ordered that Pinnacle can move forward with its
claim that the attorneys breached their fiduciary duty and intentionally
interfered with Pinnacle’s business operations. Allegations of civil
conspiracy and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty against
Stigger, Elliott and their law firms will also move forward.

“clearly during their representation of
Pinnacle, Defendants acted directly and materially adverse to Pinnacle
by encouraging and assisting Pinnacle’s employees... to prematurely
breach their three-year employment agreement with Pinnacle.”

According
to the amended lawsuit, while still representing Pinnacle’s
interests, attorneys Stigger and Elliott assisted two employees who
chose to start a competing surety bond company with the intention of
breaching their employment contract with Pinnacle. Stigger served as the
registered agent of the competing entity, according to the complaint.

The original lawsuit states that “clearly during their representation of
Pinnacle, Defendants acted directly and materially adverse to Pinnacle
by encouraging and assisting Pinnacle’s employees... to prematurely
breach their three-year employment agreement with Pinnacle.”

The lawsuit seeks damages for lost business, profits and opportunities;
damage to Pinnacle’s reputation; and punitive damages among other
damages and costs.

According
to the appeal, the Law Offices of G. Timothy Marshall, Cooper &
Elliott and Michael Dolan were involved as attorneys of record in a
class action lawsuit that resulted in attorney fees of more than $1.2
million. The fees were distributed after the Marshalls had separated but
before their divorce proceeding began. Cooper & Elliott retained
$617,000 of the fees and distributed $308,000 to Dolan and $308,000 to
Marshall’s nephew, Anthony O. Calabrese. Calabrese paid Marshall $17,500
of the money received from Cooper & Elliott.